Binaries alt
by The PlotBunny Magnet
Summary: A version of 'Binaries' without twincest, noncon, or slash. Anybody could read it! Harry starts having dreams. It turns out that Voldemort has a twin, who was taken and turned. No pairings.
1. Dreams or Memories?

**Binaries**

**by BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaim… er: Owning of nothingness. I am the non-owner of Harry Potter.

_**AN: I've finally settled down enough to write it out. I have all sorts of flashbacks set up and a direction to head in, so all I really have to do is focus on this one and figure out how it's all going to fit together. Initially I was going to have it start the minute after Voldie gets his body back, but there isn't enough room to maneuver in, so I moved it so it starts after Voldemort possesses Harry in the Atrium.**_

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**1. Dreams or Memories?**

_He sits in a bare stone room, a jail cell. He had been kidnapped/rescued from his brother, who would undoubtedly come to kill him when it was found that he was gone, a depressing thought. His focus is brought back to the present as the people who had been talking outside his cell enter. He greets them both with a glare, but one in particular earns a snarl._

_"Old coot," he snarls, baring his teeth. Said old coot just continues smiling benignly, while the other captor, a James Potter, just watches the man of two years over half a century carefully._

_"Hello, Kieran. How have you been these past thirty-eight years?" Kieran hisses, reminiscent of a snake rather than a cat._

_"What have I told you about asking questions about family, old man? Did you think something had changed? Family matters stay between family members as they always have and always will." Dumbledore just looks amused._

_"Still loyal even after all he's done to-" James stares intently at the bristling man._

_"Better than what you would have done!" Dumbledore remains calm, his smile widening even as the angered man jerks forward as if to charge but stops before he's gone two steps. The oldest wizard in the room draws two potion vials from his pocket, holding them up so that the captive may see what they are. One is a clear ocean blue and the other is a solid dark grey._

_Kieran's eyes widen, flickering back and forth between his captors as he backs away quickly, becoming tenser by the moment._

_"Do you know what these are and what they do? I think you know." _

_"A De-Aging Potion and a Dark Arts Memory Suppressing Potion, but what would you gain from turning me into a child with no access to any previous memories?" Dumbledore's smile is chilling as he takes slow steps toward the prisoner._

_"Very good, Mr. Riddle, but the real question is: what would I not gain from disabling and hiding you?" Kieran snarls again._

_"I will not be made into a weapon!" Dumbledore's smile grows and his eyes are twinkling with a fiery glow._

_"Correct. I knew it wasn't only Tom who had brains. You just chose to slack off in school instead of fighting your brother for the top spot." Kieran's eyes have become rather glossy, the world appearing blurred and a little voice whispering in his ear for him to tell the truth ._

_"He-Stay out of it!" Realization dawns on his faces, then he hisses again, showing two long fangs slightly behind his eyeteeth. "You-" Dumbledore practically glows smugness._

_"It seems like you can't tell if some things are put in your food, particularly if they're tasteless, odorless, and colorless." James seems a little shocked._

_"Veritaserum?" Dumbledore nods. "You slipped me Veritaserum? I know nothing. He-" The captive fights with himself, pressing a hand firmly over his mouth._

_"What is your name?" The standard verification question to make sure the Veritaserum is in effect. Kieran is clearly fighting to not respond, but fails._

_"Henry Matthew Riddle." The two others are startled, while H. M. Riddle feels resigned._

_"Why are you called Kieran?" The dark haired captive snarls, but is forced to answer._

_"The orphanage matron at our birth called me Kieran and it has stuck ever since." He was fighting to keep his answers as short and uninformative as he could._

_"What happened to her?" With a grimace, he is forced to reply._

_"She died in the Battle of Britain." Kieran Riddle was not happy, not at all. _

_"What is your relation to Voldemort?" Dumbledore is not amused; in fact, he's quite angry. Kieran fights much harder to keep this answer, but it is forced out in pieces._

_"Bound-" He manages to stuff his fist partway into his mouth to muffle the rest of his answer, but Dumbledore wrenches it out. "-unwilling participant-" Snarling, he rips himself from Dumbledore's clutches, but only because Dumbledore is surprised._

_"You're against him?" James starts. He had not expected that. The prisoner is once again forced to give a reply._

_"Don't... agree... with-" Suddenly Kieran screams, clutching his head. Dumbledore just smirks._

_"Wonderful," he murmurs before grabbing the captive, who just moans in pain, and forces the two potions down his throat. Kieran whimpers, pulling away from Dumbledore and everything goes black._

Harry Potter jerks up, looking and feeling like he had just run a mile. He takes deep breaths to steady himself as he leans sideways against the wall by his bed. It was another dream. The cool wall helps him focus.

The dream, like all the others he'd been having since the incident at the ministry, was startlingly lifelike, not that that was much of a surprise after all those dreams as Voldemort, but in these it seemed like it was him, not Voldemort. It was like dejá vu, he didn't remember any of this happening or who Kieran is - was, but everything seems so familiar, even the name. He knew what was happening for the duration of the dream, but once he woke up he could only remember what had happened during the dream.

Slowly he reaches between the wall and the bed to pull out a wireless notebook with a pen attached. He jots down all the details he can remember.

Once again Dumbledore brought up suspicion and wariness in Kieran a.k.a. Henry Matthew Riddle. All his memories - no, dreams; dreams, he tells himself - are of Kieran up until that meeting with Dumbledore and James Potter. That's as far in life Kieran got, apparently, before he was forced back into being an orphaned child, but this time around he wouldn't have a protective older brother.

_Kieran or Henry Matthew Riddle, did he even exist? Or is Voldemort up to his tricks again? I should be practicing Occlumency, but something's not adding up. Why would Voldemort fake having a little brother? And how and why does it feel so familiar? Not even running down that same corridor to the Department of Mysteries felt like dejá vu even after all those times I had dreamed about it. Voldemort wouldn't show any weaknesses, even if they were faked weaknesses, so why-?_ He sighs, replacing the memory-dream diary to its hiding spot, lying back down to try and get some sleep.

_I have chores to do tomorrow after all and then the day after that is my birthday._ Drifting off to sleep, he hears two little boys giggling happily.


	2. Early Stages of Denial

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaiming thingy: I do not own Harry Potter! I don't own Voldemort! I just string them up and play with them as puppets. Don't they dance so nicely?

**_AN: This is the second prologue type-chapter. One for Harry and then one for Voldie. _**

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**2. Early Stages of Denial**

_Tom Marvolo Riddle approaches someone in the Hogwarts library and sits down next to someone who looks shockingly like him._

"_Our names are so plain." The other boy just smiles a little at this, continuing to work._

"_Speak for yourself. Do you know any other Kierans? We didn't choose our names." Tom seems amused at the response._

"_It's just… I've been trying to think of an alternative." Kieran looks up._

"_What? Like a nickname or an anagram?" He continues working as Tom pulls out a piece of parchment that is completely covered in names, most of them crossed out._

"_Not a nickname because nothing like that fits me and with anagrams the only things I'm coming up with are stupid like 'Tiddle Vom Roloram.' I want it to be significant." The other looks at Tom quizzically before digging around in his bag._

"_Let's check my Language Dictionary." He pulls out a Muggle wireless notebook with a triumphant look, flipping it open and writing 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' on the first page, which appears blank, before he pulls out his wand and murmurs '**/Anagram**/' with a twitchy wave of his wand. Immediately words begin appearing down the lined paper and Kieran grins proudly at Tom, who just rolls his eyes and cuffs the other up side the head with a fond smile._

"_Alright, so it is brilliant. Thanks, Kieran." The other boy cocks his head in a curious manner._

"_We haven't even looked at the results yet." He seems amused as Tom shifts in a 'I'm a cold jerk but I've been caught being nice' kind of way. "Let's see here. You're right; these are all crap. Who'd want to call themselves 'Mev Lolodir Dotmar'? Uh-huh… Tiddle, Lolodir….. I am Tormloved Dorl. Me Dorvol Rilam Dot." Kieran snickers and Tom huffs._

"_Do you think we'll find something that's not completely stupid?" The other dark-haired boy makes a non-committal noise, continuing to flip through the pages now filled with funky words._

"_Ian? No, there's no 'n'. Iam? He he… No… I am… I am Lord… Lord what? I am Lord Tod Mevrol? Pffft! Volor Demt? Mort! You've got death in your name! I am Lord Mort Volde!" Kieran giggles at the dark look Tom's giving him._

"_You're having too much fun with this." The other just gives him a bright smile, jotting down 'vol' on the first page and mutters '**/meaning, any language/**' waving his wand with the same twitchy wave._

" '_De' in Romantic languages means 'of', so if 'vol' mean something other than a small, burrowing rodent then we'll have you a good anagram!" He pauses, cocking his head to the side again. "It means flight or wing in French. So you could be: death of flight, death of wing, wing of death, or flight of death." Tom thinks for a moment then grins smugly._

"_Flight of death sounds good; if I want to become the next dark lord, I'll consider it." Kieran grins broadly at Tom's sarcasm, putting the 'notebook' away._

"_If it's outlandish enough for you, then Voldemort it is!" Tom looks thoughtful, but Kieran has a mischievous look on his face. "I can just see it. 'No running in the halls!' There you are chiding your followers for being reckless. What if they ran into each other and got hurt? 'Hold the battle! This one's got a scraped knee!' 'Excuse me, Dumbledore, no one can use any spell worse than a Tickling Charm.' Brilliant, Tom, just brilliant." Tom scowls, getting a haughty look on his face._

"_Excuse me? If I were to attempt World Domination, Dumbledore'd be one of the first to go. All I'd have to do during the battle would be to offer him a poisoned lemon drop." Kieran is turning red from repressing his laughter. They are in a library after all._

"_You're right. Why didn't Grindelwald think of that?" Tom snorts before answering._

"_Probably because he was a – " He stops with a pained look on his face, but Kieran doesn't notice._

"_He was a big-headed, cold-hearted jerk." He finally notices something is wrong and looks over to see blood dripping from Tom's nose. "Tom, what's wrong? Tom!" Tom shakes himself, returning to the present._

"_What? What's going on?" Kieran pulls a handkerchief out of his bag._

"_You've got a nose bleed. Here, use this." Tom takes the handkerchief, still a little dazed, and Kieran gathers up his stuff. "C'mon. You'd better see Madame Lindsey." Tom blinks slowly at Kieran, then passes out, hearing the other yelling his name._

Voldemort lays on his bed, staring up at the canopy blankly and wondering where that came from. He didn't know any Kierans. Why did he not remember any of this before now?

Could it be a plot to weaken him?

Why did Kieran look and sound so familiar? He had heard that voice just a few weeks ago. Where did he hear the voice? Wasn't it in the Ministry? The Atrium? But the only people who had been there were Dumbledore, Bellatrix, and the Potter boy.

It wasn't Dumbledore, obviously. He had been the Transfiguration teacher back then. Bellatrix is a female and her voice is all wrong. The Potter boy is far too young… though that could have been taken care of with a De-Aging Potion and any memories could be blocked by an Obliviate or any number of Dark Arts potions.

But who would want to create a Potter except Dumbledore? The fact that Dumbledore might use a Dark Arts potion… but he did mold Potter into a weapon.

Now he had to wonder if the Prophesy was even valid or if it was another effort to force Potter to accept his role as a tool.

Wait, why was he even pondering this? It's just a stupid dream that could be a possible plot against him. No worrying about the Potter boy and back to bed.

He turned over and closed his eyes, trying to banish the tightening in his chest when he thought of Dumbledore forcing potions down Kieran's throat. A tingle shuddered down the link between Harry and Voldemort. Harry was feeling confused and it gave Voldemort a headache.

"Shut up and go to bed, Potter. We don't need you keeping us up with your stupid worries." Voldemort forced himself to occlude his mind and slipped back into sleep.


	3. A Pause to Review

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Statement of not claiming: I don't own.

_**AN: **I had some difficulty with this chapter. Stupid tenses. Obviously some time has passed between the first chapter and this one. Harry's just thinking back over all he's learned so far. _

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L33t speak

**3. A Pause to Review**

The dreams were disturbing and becoming more frequent, coming even during his waking hours whenever he started to drift off. Some were short flashes or even just one image of something or someone, while others could last hours. So far the Dursleys hadn't caught him when he was zoned out, but that could happen any day now.

If it kept up during the school year there might be problems. He hadn't even thought to tell Dumbledore. That man had lost his trust by keeping such important information from him. If he had but known, then Sirius might still be sending him letters, even if they were annoyingly short.

Between all the dreams and the questions they brought up, he hadn't had time to angst about Sirius; in fact, he'd hardly thought about him all summer. Every time his train of thought moved in the direction of his godfather another flashback would interrupt, almost as if to distract him from the fact that Sirius was dead.

Kieran wasn't more important than Sirius nor was Tom Riddle, despite the Prophesy that Dumbledore had told him, but his mind kept wandering back to the dreams.

They were so much like memories, first person perspective dreams that were so vivid that at times it was difficult to distinguish between reality and the dreams. Was he Kieran or Harry?

Memories of days at the orphanage with Tom Riddle were always so depressing and rather morbid, yet there was a strange lightness.

One of the more informative dreams had been when the two had asked the matron about their birth and she told them.

They were twin brothers. Tom was born first and named by their mother after their father and then their mother had died. The helpers had washed and fed Tom, while the matron cleaned up around the body when she had noticed movement within the corpse.

She had taken a kitchen knife and performed a Cesarean, taking the child from the womb directly. The matron had called him 'Kieran', though he was officially named Henry Matthew Riddle to not stand out. Kieran means 'dark one' and the whole orphanage believed him to be a demon because of the circumstances of his birth, but the matron had just shook her head at their superstitious notions. The dream had ended there and Harry pondered once again if these were real or just part of a plot.

The next dream showed when the Nazis had attacked London in the Battle of Britain. The matron had died, crushed by falling rubble as had many of the children and helpers. Kieran and Tom had survived because of their magic creating a barrier, preventing them from being flattened and then enabling them to shift the rocks enough to escape being buried alive in a broken tomb.

Afterwards when they heard that the new matron would be Mrs. Cole, they went and asked if they were going to be allowed to stay at the orphanage. Mrs. Cole didn't deny that she found the previous matron a little screwy in the head because she didn't find anything wrong with either Riddle, but she did acknowledge that she wouldn't – couldn't get rid of the two by law. After they left, Kieran and Tom swore to each other that they'd never get caught doing something bad, so they wouldn't get kicked out.

Because of their continued survival and living arrangements in the orphanage, the two Riddles had become even more outcast, but Mrs. Cole couldn't punish what she didn't see and the other orphans had no such qualms and terrorized them at every chance, enraging Tom and earning his ire.

A child named Billy (who had no last name because no one knew who his parents had been) had openly accused Kieran of being a demon though it was Tom who fought with him, claiming that his brother was no such thing. Billy had then said Tom must be a demon, too, being related to Kieran and all, using some very foul language to insult the brothers further.

Tom had been so angry that he had hung Billy's rabbit using magic that he wasn't supposed to have that much control over yet.

The other children, led by Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop, had ganged up on Kieran, thinking that he had been the one to hang the bunny, leaving the younger Riddle covered in bruises and cuts, with a broken arm.

Tom had been furious and in retaliation he took the two leaders into a seaside cave when they had gone on a sort of field trip and punished them.

They never did that again, in fact they couldn't stand to be in the same room with either Riddle, though Kieran hadn't harmed them in any way, not even when trying to escape the children during their attack.

Tom took something from each of the children who had helped in the attack on his little brother and they knew it, but were unable to do anything about it because of their utter terror of Tom's wrath.

Then Dumbledore had come, discussing the Riddle brothers with Mrs. Cole, while Kieran eavesdropped, not that anyone ever found out.

Dumbledore told Tom about Hogwarts first, then, after not-so-subtly threatening Tom for stealing from the other orphans, he had tracked down Kieran, who reacted coldly particularly when Dumbledore had asked him about Tom.

Kieran was just as protective of Tom as Tom was of him and both had noticed the Leaky Cauldron during their explorations of London, though they had never entered, wary of what kind of business the Leaky Cauldron was.

Dumbledore had offered to go with Kieran as he had Tom, but Kieran, like his brother, had stated they didn't need him.

The dream had ended here, but the next night it had picked up again.

After the auburn-haired man had left, Kieran quickly went to Tom's room and glomped him. They were ecstatic about being wizards and leaving the orphanage, so ecstatic that they went that very day to the Leaky Cauldron and crossed into Diagon Alley, purchasing most of their supplies secondhand because of necessity, though that hadn't made Tom feel any better.

They entered Ollivander's warily, glancing around quickly and trying to not look as nervous as they felt. After waiting a good five minutes, Mr. Ollivander greeted them by creeping up behind them, startling them so much that Kieran darted behind Tom, who stood his ground and glared.

The old wandmaker had just smiled; his eyes just as pale then as they were over half a century later. Out came the tape measure as Mr. Ollivander gave the same spiel about the different wands made, but he also told how long ago they had been made.

It took a long time, but eventually the pale-eyed man pulled out two wands that had been side-by-side. He had murmured that surely it couldn't be. The twins took the wands, waving them simultaneously and causing red and gold sparks shoot out of the wands, lighting up the dimly lighted shop with light so bright that the three present had to shield their eyes.

To say they were surprised would be an understatement. Ollivander told them that these two wands' cores had been from the same phoenix, who gave only those two feathers. Tom's was the same 13 ½ inch yew wand, but Kieran's was the achingly familiar 11 inch holly wand.

Harry jerked awake at this. How he could have the same wand had plagued Harry until he finally firmly told himself that this was all just a trick or trap to confuse and/or hurt him. It must be a plot, a lie, to do… something to him.

He set it aside, ignoring it. He'd be going to the Burrow soon. Maybe the dreams would stop. If they didn't, then Hermione might be of some help.

**_AN:_** _I may revamp and repost this later on, but for now here it is._


	4. Possibilities

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not owned by me. If I owned him then he'd be on the floor.

Get it? Owned? Pwned? C'mon!

_**AN: **It's difficult writing when twins are speaking. – . – ;;_

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L337 speak

**4. Possibilities**

Voldemort hissed in frustration, flopping back onto his bed. The dreams kept coming, increasing in number and frequency, and after every dream the Potter boy would feel confused. It seemed as if he was also being visited by dreams, though they could be different or it could just be a coincidence, very unlikely but a possibility.

Each dream made him think more and more of Potter and it was quickly becoming annoying. He didn't need any more reminders of the child than he already did.

His was so tired. Maybe staying up for the past three days wasn't the best idea.

"_It's a good thing we couldn't get a pet, isn't it?" Tom glanced at his brother perched beside him on the roof._

"_Yes. They can't kill a pet of ours in retaliation if we don't own one in the first place. You want one though, don't you?" Kieran smiled sadly._

"_It would have been nice, maybe some sort of snake so we could talk to it or a cat that we could pet and would seek us out for attention." Tom pulled Kieran into a sideways hug._

"_Maybe when we leave here for good or if we found a snake that likes us it could stay at Hogwarts without us during the summer." Kieran relaxed into the hug._

"_Wouldn't it get lonely?"_

"_If it had lived there its whole life, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem." They stay like that for a few minutes more. "It should be time." Kieran nods and they both get up, heading over to the ladder they had constructed to escape any would-be disturbers of their peace._

Voldemort shot off the bed, glaring at it suspiciously before starting to pace.

_We hadn't been able to afford a pet after purchasing all the necessary supplies and a few important books like 'Hogwarts, A History' and two reusable paper charms that would shrink and resize our trunks on command, but we weren't too upset because that meant there wasn't anything that could be killed and we kept our shrunk trunks hidden at all times. _

He stopped pacing.

"These aren't real! The dreams are just that! Dreams! Fake! False! A plot to weaken me! Harry Potter is Harry Potter and always has been!" He raised his fists, still shouting.

"I have no other living relatives; I killed them, the father that abandoned our mother when he found out she was a witch, the grandparents who agreed with their son and didn't want anything to do with the witch's child even if I was their grandson, the uncle who was nothing but an inbred drunk that didn't put up any fight when under the Imperius and made kill the three Muggles! I have no brother nor have I ever had any siblings." He paused, making sure the Silencing Charms were still in effect. They were, so he could continue ranting to himself in peace.

"Dumbledore must be scheming again, thinking that if I believed Potter to be my brother I wouldn't want to kill him. I thought he knew that I've killed my other relatives, but he must not. I'll let him think his plan is working, then kill the Potter boy anyway." A gasp escaped as his chest tightened painfully.

"What spell is this? I think of killing Potter and my chest aches, my blood runs cold, my eyes burn. There is no spell that could cause this nor any potion." He collapses onto his bed, still pondering, but soon slips into dreamland.

_He wakes up, blinking open his eyes. It's September 1st and time to get up if they want to make the train. Getting up to go shake his little brother awake, he chooses their least ragged clothes to wear to the train then they could change into their uniforms._

_Kieran stretches as he gets out of bed, slipping on the clothes his brother hands him and pocketing his trunk and wand. They leave the room, going down to grab two rolls and remind Mrs. Cole that they'll be gone for the school year before heading out. Neither looks back._

_They arrive at King's Cross and immediately begin looking around. Its 9:00 and they don't see any Platform 9 ¾, though they do notice a rather large boy with his seemingly tiny father, trying to be inconspicuous and leaning against the barrier between platforms nine and ten. The twins watch closely, but right before their eyes the father and son simply vanish. One second they're there and the next they're gone. _

_Tom and Kieran share a look before strolling in front of the barrier. Kieran turns, meaning to just examine the suspicious architecture, but when he prods the wall, he simply falls through._

_The twin left on the other side is alarmed and immediately moves to find out where his brother went, unintentionally going through the not-as-solid-as-it-seemed wall, only to find the other brushing himself off and standing under a sign that clearly said 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express._

_They share a flabbergasted glance before composing themselves and boarding the train, finding a compartment near the back that is deserted. Once there they pull their trunks out of their pockets, resizing them to pull their robes out, changing and then re-shrinking the trunks, replacing them in their pockets. _

_There aren't very many people, but both twins agree it must be because they're two hours early. Settling down, they wait and watch. _

_Only a few minutes later a family of pointy-faced blonds arrives, looking very haughty in their entire well-dressed splendor, and what must be two more families that seem rather troll-like._

_Tom looks amused by this, but Kieran just rolls his eyes._

"_Peacocks guarded by trolls. I've never heard of such things." Kieran elbows his brother._

"_It must be a rather normal thing, since no one else seems surprised. It wouldn't surprise me if they're Purebloods, probably the Malfoys." Tom grins at his twin._

"_You did read Wizarding Politics and Culture then and I must say I agree." Kieran just nods and they turn back to watching families arrive. _

_Not ten minutes later they turn away from the window. It hurts to watch as their fellow students dismiss their parents so carelessly when they have no parents to see them off._

_No one has dared enter their compartment and they don't want to be disturbed. One pretty brunette, who looks about 15, almost does, but Tom glares at her menacingly and she quickly decides that it would be best not to._

_No one wants to be near someone who death glares at them, even if the glare is from someone who is obviously a first year._

_The train ride is a quiet affair with the two brothers sitting beside each other. A witch pushing a cart comes by and offers them candy around lunchtime. Tom buys four Pumpkin Pasties and a couple Chocolate Frogs for both of them with the last of the money that Dumbledore gave them._

_The Pasties are savored and it is Kieran that opens his Chocolate Frog first. The frog immediately springs into action, but he has always been quick, so the sweet doesn't get far. When Tom opens his he's ready for the first leap._

_The sun is warm and both Riddles are so sleepy. They settle down for a short nap._

Voldemort snarls, but doesn't get up off the bed, just rolls over onto his stomach.

**:Why can't I just sleep in peace**?He groans, huffing when shock and confusion filter into his mind.

**:That's my line.:** Voldemort's eyes widen. Potter wasn't sleeping well either?

**:What are you going on about? Sending me dreams of a brother I never had.:** His chest constricts and hurt shimmers down their link followed by confusion.

**:I thought you were the one sending me fake dreams.:** He scoffs.

**:To lure you to the Ministry, I did, but what would I gain from sending you visions of my childhood: **

**:I don't know… sympathy:** Voldemort hisses, feeling Harry flinch.

**:What would I need sympathy from you for, Potter:** Silence and no small amount of confusion settles over the two. Neither was sending dreams to the other, so what could be causing these dreams?

**:I haven't been taking any experimental potions or doing any rituals. No other side effects have been noticed…:** He rolled onto his back, still thinking.

**:Do you think I should ask Dumbledore about them:** Voldemort sat up in shock and anger.

**:NO! What if he is the one who's doing it:** He could feel Harry raise an incredulous eyebrow.

**:What would he gain from me knowing all about your childhood:** Laying back down, he considers it for awhile, not coming up with anything.

**:What if he doesn't want you knowing? What if something happened and I really did have a twin brother named Kieran:** Harry thinks this over.

**:Why would I have dreams of only Kieran in Dumbledore's custody being questioned before force-fed potions to block his memories and turn him into a child:** Voldemort lay, stunned into silence.

**:Then it is possible that you are…. When did you have that dream:** Harry felt taken aback, debating whether he should answer or not.

**:That's the first one I had. It was about three weeks ago, right after I arrived back at the Dursley's.:** Voldemort nodded. Even though Harry couldn't see it, he could feel it and it made him rather dizzy.

**:You had just made it back to your relatives' house and then you have a dream that could be a memory, the last memory of another life. I had just possessed you a few days prior, am I correct:** Harry growled, but nodded. Sirius had just died; Bellatrix had gotten away. **:Calm down. Did you have a headache:** He could feel Harry making a face in confusion.

**:Yeah… I still have one.: **

**:Of course. Muggle pain killers won't ease the pain of a cracked memory block.:** Harry snarled and would have glared at him, but mind speaking like this didn't allow that.

**:I wouldn't know. I've never had any Muggle pain killers**.: Voldemort snorted.

**:You grew up with Muggles. Don't tell me you never got hur** **- :** Harry's anger flared up again.

**:I have never had any Muggle pain killers! Not when Dudley used me as a punching bag, not when I've burnt my hand while cooking breakfast for them, not-:** Finally he interrupted.

**:You were abused as a child! The Wizarding World's Savior was allowed to be abused when he couldn't defend himself! Dumbledore's Golden Boy was beat up by his cousin? Did your aunt and uncle know:** He realized that was the wrong thing to say when he felt Harry's rage surge.

**:Did they know! They encouraged it! My room for the first eleven years of my life was the cupboard under the stairs! My Hogwarts letter was addressed to it: **Voldemort sputtered. **:When I came back from my first year I was locked in my cousin's second bedroom with no less than six different locks on the door, bars on the window, Hedwig locked in her cage, a cat flap on my door so they could gift me with cold canned soup and stale bread when they remembered I was there, and I was only allowed out of my room to use the bathroom twice a day! My trunk and wand were locked in the cupboard under the stairs! I had to rush to finish my homework after Ron, George, and Fred rescued me in their father's flying Ford Anglia:** Voldemort had trouble interrupting a second time, but he did.

**:They what:** He paused and Harry waited, feeling quite embarrassed by his outburst.

**:Sorry.:** Voldemort just waved it off, still thinking, leaving Harry bemused by the sudden odd feeling in his hand.

**:He doesn't care.:** Harry's bemusement vanished. **:That's why. If you are Kieran, then Dumbledore wouldn't care how you are treated by your Muggle… they're not your relatives, meaning there aren't any blood wards. In fact, he probably put you there as punishment.:** Voldemort shakes his head, trying to reason it out.

**:Punishment for what:** Harry is curious.

**:Being my brother? But that doesn't… I don't remember. Why don't I remember:** Astonishment and hurt filter down their link.

**:Remember what? You don't remember having a brother:** He sounds mournful, hurt.

**:No, I don't, but a memory blocking potion only affects the drinker, so why did I forget? Did he slip me something that made me forget all about having a twin brother:** Voldemort shakes his head again, feeling suddenly disgusted and ridiculous. **:I can't believe I'm even considering this. It's ludicrous.:** Harry started panicking.

**:What! You were just – What if it wasn't a potion? Is there a spell? Or maybe something else that could cause a such a drastic change in you:** Voldemort sneered.

**:What are you talking about? I haven't chan - :** He paused, realizing something. **:You're remembering more.:** Harry was quiet for a moment in surprise.

**:I did, didn't I? You were talking about escaping death… about horcruxes: **

_Tom and Kieran were down in the Chamber of Secrets._

"_Kieran! We could live forever!" Kieran crosses his arms, glaring._

"_But all the books on soul magic say that the soul should always remain whole. There are drastic consequences for individuals with broken souls." _

"_But Kieran – " Tom argues, fighting between the want for acceptance from his brother and the need to assure they wouldn't die._

"_But nothing! Find. another. way!" Tom snarls, hands clenched tightly at his sides._

"_Well, sorry, I don't have a Philosopher's Stone handy!" Tom sneers, but his brother just sighs, calming down._

"_Even that has its flaws. You would still age, feeling more worn the longer you lived and you'd have to keep drinking the Elixir of Life to stay alive. All anyone would have to do is steal the stone and you would die." Tom huffs, but concedes and Kieran approaches his brother, their anger draining out of them._

"_I don't want to be weak, but I want to be lonely even less. If I find something, would you?"_

"_As long as it doesn't have any funky side effects then I might consider it." Kieran sighs. Compromising is such a pain._

**:Did you – :**

**: - just have a flashback:**

**:Yes. We were in the – :**

**: - Chamber of Secrets.:** They both paused, then burst out in laughter.

**:I guess we are – :**

**: - twins, though this is – :**

**: - rather disturbing.:** They pause again, thinking.

**:Are you… still going to kill me:** Voldemort starts, surprised.

**:If you are my twin brother, then you weren't born at the end of July. You were – :**

**: - born on New Year's Day. We asked the matron – :**

**: - and she told us I was born at 11:59 pm on New Year's Eve and – :**

**: - I was born – :**

**: - seven minutes later at 12:06 am.:**

**:We were born – :**

**: - in different years, but we're – :**

**: - twins. How odd.:** They both laughed again, the older with a surprisingly deep chuckle and the younger with a snigger.

**:We used to annoy so many people doing that.:** Harry grinned wickedly.

**:Drove the teachers up the walls when one of us would start to answer a question – :** Voldemort smirked.

**: - and the other would finish it. We got more points to Slytherin that way since we both knew the answer.: **Harry remembered something and pouted.

**:Except in Dumbledore's class.: **Voldemort sneered, feeling Harry's amusement die at the mention of Dumbledore.

**:He was stingy with the Slytherins, especially since we bested his precious Gryffindor's all time.:** Harry was quiet for a few minutes.

**:I think… we need to get some sleep. We need to think over all this. Try to figure out what happened.:** Voldemort sighed, knowing he was right, so they said goodnight and settled down in their respective beds, drifting off into a semi-restful sleep.

_**AN:** Ok, I can hear it now: why don't they just keep taking De-Aging Potions to be 'immortal'? De-Aging Potions cause a lot of stress and pain. _

_If taken too much, there is a build up. When there is too much build up, it kicks in and instead of the person being turned into a baby they continue on until they're only one cell and die._


	5. Nightmarish Memories

**Binaries**

**By BEWD Sorcerer**

Disclaimer: Owned, people! Laugh! Am I a good story teller? I better be cause this is just it, a story. I own the plotbunny that is currently perched on my head, sucking on my forehead.

_thoughts_

"Out loud speech, English"

_'Parseltongue'_

**:Link Speech: **Note: not L337 speak

**5. Nightmarish Memories**

_"Tom! What's going on? What's that noise?" Kieran shakes his brother awake. "Are they coming to bomb us again? Tom!" He finally gets up, looking around at his panicking brother and peacefully sleeping roommates._

_"Why are they still sleeping soundly?" Kieran shrugs, burying his face in his hands. The older brother tries to ponder out what could cause air raid sirens in Hogwarts and why no one else seemed to hear them. Shouldn't they be up and panicking like Kieran? It reminded him of the Battle of Britain when they had woken up with no one else but the matron there. All the others had been taken away to shelter that hadn't held up very well anyway, but the fact that they had been left to die. It irked him.  
Kieran sobbed, bringing him back to reality._

_"We should go find a teacher and ask. Maybe Professor Slughorn knows something? Surely a teacher would hear all this racket, though why we can and they not..." Kieran nodded as they made their way out of their dorms, up the stairs and into a deserted Common Room. From there they took a small, hidden passageway next to the fireplace that led to the Potions Professor's private quarters, his living room to be exact. Tom knocked._

_"Professor Slughorn! Sir, there seems to be a problem! Professor!" He knocked again, harder, yelling louder. Darn the man and his lazy tendencies. He was about to knock again when the door creaked open. _

_No one was there. The fire in the fireplace was dim and it seemed like someone had rushed out in a hurry, judging by the upturned chair, sloppy mess left on the coffee table, and bumpy rugs leading to the door to the hallway. _

_"Professor!" Still no answer. The whole room exuded a lived in, left quickly air, even the portrait leading to the hallway was left open. Kieran shuddered, staring out the open portrait._

_"It smells funny out there." Tom sighed as they headed toward the hallway. _

_Maybe Headmaster Dippet would know? Or at least they'd run into one of the patrolling teachers, prefects, or Head Children so they could ask._

_The siren sounded louder in the hallway, but they just had to bare it. No Muggles could be attacking, but why would... how could the Dark Lord have found where Hogwarts was located? There were so many enchantments hiding it that no one could find it unless invited. _

_They kept moving, slinking along in the shadows upwards. Where could everyone be?_

_They reached the ground floor before they saw anyone. Well, what used to be someone, nothing but a charred mess now. Both realized that they should probably be getting back to the safety of their dorms very quickly, but just as they turned around, a dark chuckle reverberated in the dark corridor to their left._

_Turning to face the threat, they both stood gaping when the perpetrator stepped into the moonlight._

_The Dark Lord had infiltrated Hogwarts._

_Two heavy-lidded red-orange eyes stared at the twins creepily, sharp teeth flashed when he grinned. It was like seeing a starving wolf in the winter, all wild eyes, razor-sharp fangs, lanky hair, and lolling tongue. They were prey, weak prey with no back-up, Little Red Riding Hoods in grandmother's house, but there was likely to not be a rescuing huntsman._

_"Perfect. How strong you are! Full of vitality and magic." His grin widened, making him look all the more insane; the twins shuddered, huddling together._

_**What big eyes you have!**_

_Kieran remembered the old fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood and he knew that this was their version of it. Tom tried to glare, but he knew that they'd have no chance against the Dark Lord. It's why they hadn't tried running or attacking. They wouldn't get very far, especially with their muscles tensed in fear. _

_Instincts told them that the best course was to stay still. The Monster wouldn't attack until after he'd savored the moment long enough. Any attempt to fight back or escape would hurry him along and bring his wrath along with his hunger down upon them. If they had to, they could stall, but the likelihood of being saved in time was ridiculously low. Hogwarts would protect them if there was an air raid, but the she could do little to protect her children from other wizards, even if they were heirs to one of the Founders._

_**What big ears you have!**_

_The Dark Lord was, sadly, quite aware of what could happen if he lingered too long and could hear someone approaching._

_**What big hands you have!**_

_Then he struck._

_They put up quite a fight, but he wasn't a Dark Lord for nothing and he was soon on his way out of the castle with two very precious burdens._

_**What a horribly big mouth you have!**_

Sitting up quickly, he gasped. Who had that been? He tried to focus; it was important. If he could figure out who that was, then it might be the puzzle piece that would make everything fit together, but it evaded him.

Something about a wolf-like creature, evil monster that would gobble up wizards in an instant, but they had survived, saved by someone who they disliked greatly. It was just a ploy to earn their trust, they thought, but none-the-less their 'savior' had defeated the beast and they hadn't been devoured.

His right shoulder and part of his neck ached fiercely.

What could it all mean? What had happened? He couldn't remember... maybe Tom did? But why did it feel so very pressing? It was important; they had to remember.

**:Tom:** No answer.

**:Tom! Voldemort! OI:** Still no answer, only chilling blankness. It gave him a bad feeling. Suddenly there was a thunderous noise, sounding like a herd of elephants was tromping up the stairs, and then a banging on his door.

Was it the Order of the Phoenix, come to get him for conversing with the enemy? No, how could they know he was talking to Vold - Tom? Could it be his uncle, coming to yell at him for being a freak?

Finally they must have gotten tired of waiting because they wrenched open his door.

_**AN:** Cliffhanger because I need to ponder how I'm going to do this next part. I also need to work on my other stories. _

_In the mean time, the Zerg are attempting to eat my brain. _


End file.
